Tycoon laughs off gossip over cosy Shelbourne drinks with ‘adviser’

He’s a man with a notorious past, and many believed Ben Dunne had put his wild days behind him. So when the married businessman was seen getting friendly with a young blonde in the bar of The Shelbourne Hotel, word inevitably spread like wildfire.

Mr Dunne and the mystery woman pitched up at the landmark hotel bar on Thursday night and spent the evening drinking Bombay Sapphire gin.

The pair were spotted touching hands and rubbing each other’s legs – and at one stage the younger woman even pecked the 62-year-old’s cheek in the packed bar.

When approached by a journalist from the Irish Mail on Sunday on the night, Mr Dunne did not reveal who his companion was.

‘Happy Christmas,’ said Mr Dunne.

The tycoon then explained that the young woman’s dog had just died and that he was consoling her – although he didn’t understand why people would get upset over losing a dog: ‘It’s not like a member of the family or your parents dying,’ he added.

As the night went on, the pair continued to cosy up at the bar. At one stage Mr Dunne was seen rubbing her belly, and she left her hand on his leg.

However, speaking to the MoS yesterday, Mr Dunne said he wanted to clarify that he is still happily married and he only met the young woman on the day as she works for him in an advisory role.

‘If there was something going on you wouldn’t do it very visibly – that would be my point,’ explained Mr Dunne.

He also confirmed that he is still happily wed to his wife Mary, who he met in 1972 and who has stood by him through thick and thin.

‘Oh 100 per cent yes, I am still married,’ he insisted.

He also said that the Christmas lunch brought out the more friendly side of him.

Closer: Ben Dunne, in The Shelbourne Bar on Thursday with his unidentified 'adviser'

‘I never deny something. It was the first time I was ever there or anywhere with this person,’ he said.

And although he wouldn’t reveal her name he did say that she works for him.

‘She acts for me professionally. I won’t say any more than that.’

Explaining why he had taken her hand, Mr Dunne said that they had to move because the bar was so packed.

Touchy feely: Mr Dunne says he took his friend's hand as the bar was packed and 'we didn't want to get separated'

Contact: He admits that he may have been 'over-friendly', after being overcome with festive cheer

‘We didn’t want to get separated,’ he said. ‘I was there with someone else. They could have gone home. It was Christmas,’ said Mr Dunne. ‘First time I met her. What I am saying is the absolute truth.’

When asked why he was so friendly with someone he had just met, he said he was overcome with festive cheer.

‘It was Christmas. I wasn’t watching myself. If you say people thought we were over-friendly then there is nothing I can do.’

As a scion of one of Ireland’s wealthiest families, Ben Dunne’s colourful life has hit the headlines before.

Following a disastrous night in a Florida hotel room in 1992, the former director of Dunnes Stores was arrested for possession of drugs.

Married: Ben Dunne with his wife Mary, who he met in 1972

The businessman was spotted standing semi-naked and screaming from a hotel balcony and after a search of his room he was charged with possession of cocaine. Before the arrest, Dunne had spent the night partying with a prostitute.

The incident led to him losing his role as director of the Dunnes Stores group, a position he had held since he took over from his father, Ben senior, the founder of the retail chain.

However, since then, Mr Dunne has claimed he was reborn and is a changed man.

He came back from his disgrace and built one of the most successful gym chains in the country, Ben Dunne Gyms.

He was again embroiled in scandal in the mid-1990s when it emerged that he had given large amounts of money to a number of Irish politicians, mainly from Fianna Fáil.

His close relationship with former taoiseach Charlie Haughey was well documented.